Amy Tan v.s. Amy Chua

     In Amy Chua's "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior", she talks about the steps that the parents encounter to make their children successful. She describes how you must be able to discipline them so that they will listen to you.  In the "Twenty-Six Malignant Gates", Amy Tan describes the mother-daughter relationships that they encounter as Americans. These two readings shows lots of similarities about parenthood and the expectations that they want their daughters to follow. In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, in the section called, The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates, the story called Two Kinds explains how Jing Mei Woo is pushed to learn things that she doesn't want to do. These two discusses how their daughters aren't able to make their own decisions.


     In the story, Two Kinds, Jing Mei's mother wanted her to be a prodigy and made her learn many things. Her mother wanted her to learn the piano, but Jing Mei didn't want is and she knew that she would not do good. The duaghter was often made to follow the decisions that the mother choose and don't get to choose their own choice, she can only listen to her mother:

"Why don't you like me the way I am? I am not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you pay me a million dollars!" I cried. My mother slapped me. "Who asked you be genius?" she shouted. "Only asked you to be your best. For you sake. You think I want you be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who asked you!" (Tan 136)

 This shows that even though the daughter doesn't want to be like a prodigy and play the piano, her mom says that she has to even though she might not be good at it. Her mom wants her to learn the things that she could now at this point so that her future would be better. Her mother just wants her daughter to try her best and play. This will teach her a lesson that life is hard and nothing is easy. Her mother's intentions are that the skills that she learn now will come in very handy.


     In the discussions that Amy Chua makes, her observations and teaching are similar to Jing Mei's mom. Their intentions are the same, and they both want their child to be successful:

Chinese mothers said that they believe their children can be "the best" students, that "academic achievement reflects successful parenting," and that if children did not excel at school then there was "a problem" and parents "were not doing their job." What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work. (Chua)

This connects to the Jing Mei's mothers experience. They don't want their child to do bad because it would be their fault if they kids does do well. They feel that they have to take responsibility and make them learn something they don't like. By doing this, it means that they gave them am chance to do something, but they didn't, which means its not their fault. These two parents does not intend to do bad for them, but want them to be well grown fine ladies.


     I think that Amy Tan's novel does endure Chua's argument about motherhood. Even though their expectations might be strict, their intentions are the same. The only thing they want to do is do good for their children. They way they teach their kids has a meaning to it and they want their child to be successful. If you connect the pieces of Amy Chua and Amy Tan, their sense of parenting is very similar.